What is Evergreen Content and Why Does Your Site Need It?

Written by: Jason Bayless | August 24, 2014

If you blog, you’ve probably noticed that there are different types of blog posts: those whose subject matter will remain basically the same over time and offer value to readers for years, and those that will gradually (or quickly) become outdated because they discuss current industry trends, news stories or the latest products.

Even if you don’t blog (yet), you probably have certain content that has more lasting value than other content — a really well-written how-to guide or white paper vs. a press release, for example. That kind of content is often referred to as “evergreen” because it keeps its value.

Why Focus on Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is great for:

Educating “newbies” — people who are just learning about your industry, products or services.

Saving you some work — because while trendy news pieces might bring a spike in traffic, it’s a temporary boost and you’ll need to be on the lookout for the next big story. Evergreen content stays relevant longer.

Interlinks within your website, which is a good thing for SEO. Instead of having to explain the same concepts every time you write about a topic, you can link to that evergreen content for basic or background information.

Repurposing — you can take a piece of evergreen content and use it for other content formats. For example, a page of web content can be used as the basis for a slideshow or video, or vice versa.

Tips for Creating and Using Evergreen Content

So now that you know evergreen content is important for your website, how do you come up with topics for content that keeps its relevancy year after year? Here are some ideas for developing content that offers lasting value:

Choose a narrow topic that has been a relevant subject in your industry or business for many years and will probably continue to be relevant.

Create most of your evergreen content with beginners in mind. Keep the use of industry jargon to a minimum and focus on the keywords and search terms a beginner would use to find this information.

Link back to your evergreen content frequently from other content on your site. As we mentioned above, it will keep you from having to explain the same concepts again and again. Plus, the interlinking this creates on your site is great for SEO. And if the content is useful enough, it will get backlinks from other sites, too.